Romaji: Zeruda no Densetsu Towairaito Purinsesu) is a video game for the Nintendo GameCube and Nintendo Wii that was released in 2006. It was developed and published by Nintendo and is the thirteenth video game in the very popular The Legend of Zelda series.

The game was originally going to be released solely on the GameCube in November 2005, though it was delayed by a whole year. Shortly before E3 2006, it was reported by EGM that the game would be released on both the Wii and GameCube consoles. The game has a more mature theme than previous incarnations.

Before he could begin his journey, Link, the mayor's daughter Ilia, and Rusl's son Colin were ambushed by a group of monsters. Ilia and Colin were kidnapped, and Link was knocked unconscious.

Upon awakening, he pursued them, only to be sucked into the Twilight Realm, transforming into a wolf, and imprisoned in a castle. An imp-like creature named Midna helped him escape from his cell, and the two joined forces.

Link and Midna travel through the castle until they meet another one of its prisoners - Princess Zelda herself. She explains that Zant, a member of a race known as the Twili, is trying to merge the Twilight Realm and Hyrule to make them into one land of darkness (Zant's Invasion of Hyrule).

In order to defeat Zant, Midna is searching for a sacred weapon called the Fused Shadows that she can use to defeat Zant and save the Twilight Realm. However, Midna cares nothing for the fate of Hyrule.

During the quest to assemble this weapon, it is discovered that the Twili are a race of beings whose ancestors were banished to the Twilight Realm by the Gods of Hyrule (Din, Farore, and Nayru). The Twili's ancestors were interlopers with great magic who went to the holy Sacred Realm in order to establish dominion over it, causing a war to break out in Hyrule.

After these sorcerers became too powerful, the goddesses sent three light spirits to seal away the beings' magic and sealed the beings themselves away into another realm known as the Twilight Realm. The goddesses created the Mirror of Twilight, a device to banish beings into the Twilight Realm (though it can also be used to enter the realm normally).

After many trials, Link and Midna re-assemble the Fused Shadow. Just as it seems as if Link finally has the upper hand, Zant appears, curses Link to be trapped in his wolf form, and Midna is exposed to the spirit Lanayru's light and is mortally wounded. Zant leaves, and Link hurries Midna back to Hyrule Castle to seek aid from Princess Zelda.

At Hyrule Castle, Princess Zelda, reveals that the only way Link can return back to his normal form is to find the Blade of Evil's bane, otherwise known as the Master Sword. Midna's life is fading away, and Zelda, upon realizing that Midna can save Hyrule, sacrifices herself to save Midna. Midna and Link then venture deep into the Sacred Grove and obtain the Master Sword.

Midna explains that the only way to save Hyrule and stop Zant now is to find the Mirror of Twilight and use it to confront Zant with the Master Sword. However, when Link and Midna reach the Mirror, Zant had already broken it into four fragments. Only one fragment of the Mirror of Twilight is present. The ancient Sages who guard the Mirror appear, and reveal that the evil Ganondorf had the Triforce of Power, and thus could not be killed.

After he was impaled, the sages had thought he'd been executed, but he instantly rose, and killed the Water Sage and was then sealed into the Twilight Realm. The Sages reveal that only the true Ruler of the Twili could destroy the Mirror of Twilight and that Zant was only powerful enough to break it in four. The duo then set off to find the remaining fragments of the Mirror of Twilight.

Link and Midna venture out and recover the fragments of the Mirror of Twilight, reconstruct the Mirror, and use it to warp to the Twilight Realm, where Zant rules in the Palace of Twilight. When they assembled the mirror, the story of how Minda found Link in the first place, and the fact that she's the Twilight Princess, is exposed. Link and Midna confront Zant and finally learn that Zant was actually in line to become the true Twilight King, but was passed over.

When Zant was passed over in the choice for ruler, he went into a crazed rage, and was approached by the spirit of Ganondorf, who selected him to be a servant that would help him come to power (he had told him that he would grant him his power and that he was a god). It is revealed that Midna is the true Twilight Princess, and was overthrown by Zant and turned into an imp using Ganondorf's power.

Link defeats Zant, but Zant remains alive; as long as Ganondorf lives, his power will keep Zant alive. Midna uses but a small fraction of her newly gained power from her ancestors to kill him (see above, Ganondorf revives him). Link then leaves and returns to Hyrule to save Zelda. The castle is engulfed by a barrier erected by Zant, and Midna uses the sacred Fused Shadow weapon to break it.

The duo infiltrates Hyrule Castle and reaches the top throne room to find Ganondorf sitting on the throne, and Zelda's lifeless body suspended above him. Ganondorf possesses Princess Zelda's body and fights Link. Link wins the battle, and Midna then uses the Fused Shadow to purge Zelda of Ganondorf. He then turns into a beast-like form, Ganon, and attacks Link. Link slays the beast, and Midna unwittingly returns Zelda's soul to her body. Before the trio can celebrate, Ganondorf's soul appears. Midna warps Link and Zelda to safety in Hyrule Field and then tries to destroy Ganon using the Fused Shadow.

As Link and Zelda appear in Hyrule Field, they turn to Hyrule Castle and see a giant explosion emanating from it. They then see Ganondorf on horseback, holding Midna's helmet â€” he has defeated her. He crushes it and charges with his phantom riders.

Ganondorf is about to slay Link and Zelda when the Princess uses her divine power to summon the light spirits. The spirits bestow upon her the Light Arrows, and then Link and Zelda re-appear in Hyrule Field on Epona and battle Ganondorf. Ultimately, Ganondorf falls in battle, only to rise one last time to challenge Link to a one-on-one sword duel. In the end, Link runs Ganondorf through with the Master Sword. (with the Ending Blow).

As this happens, Zant suddenly snaps his neck â€” Zant's death reveals that Ganondorf has finally died. Now that Zant is apparently dead, his curse on Midna using Ganondorf's power has been lifted, and Midna regains her true form. Upon Link seeing her, she says, "What? Say Something! Am I so beautiful that you've no words left?" After Link and Zelda are reunited with her, they travel to the Mirror of Twilight, to see Midna off before she returns home.

Before Midna warps away, she shatters the Mirror of Twilight, with her tear, forever sealing off the road between Hyrule and the Twilight Realm. What will become of Link now that his adventure is over remains unknown, but in the end of the credits Fado is seen shouting up to the window in Link's house, and Ilia is waiting near the connecting passage to Ordon Spring.

It is debated whether or not Link is riding away from Ordon at the end of the credits, but after closer examination, he appears to be in fact riding away. This has left speculation that a sequel could be in order, with Link perhaps pursuing a way to reach Midna in a somewhat similar vein to OcarinaLink going to look for Navi at the beginning of Majora's Mask.

Spoilers end here

Gameplay

Link is controlled in a similar fashion to previous entries in the series, namely Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask and The Wind Waker. Its maturity has been considerably increased in terms of graphics and controls, not to mention its intriguing plot and characters.

The enormity of Hyrule almost dwarfs that of previous games. In all, there are nine main dungeons, each one containing a new item, a mid-boss, and a final boss. Link will also obtain many quest items in the dungeons, including fused shadows (first half of the game) and mirror shards (second half of the game).

While being a human, you are able to use your sword, shield, and the multiple other items that you'll obtain during your quest. This is one of the major advantages that human Link has, as his wolf form cannot use any of those, and also cannot open doors (among other things). Link will also acquire new armor. One of these suits is the Zora Armor, which allows Link to move freely and breathe underwater. The Magic Armor will make Link invincible against enemy attacks, though while wearing the suit, Link's rupee count will deplete. Link will move slowly when his rupees are depleted.

One of the more notable features in the fact that once Link enters the twilight world, he will turn into a wolf. This wolf is very powerful and can move rather fast as well (though not as fast as Epona). Some of the special features that wolf Link can perform that is human form cannot is his ability to go into his sense mode, which will allow him to find ghosts, people from the light world that are stuck in the twilight, his ability to dig to find secrets and to get into certain previously inaccessible areas.

While Midna is on his back, Link is able to use dark energy, which will form a large circle that will kill any enemies that are within the force field. He is also able to jump long distances while Midna is on his back. Wolf Link will also learn special howls, akin to the songs in Ocarina of Time or the spells in Wind Waker.

The Wii version of the game takes advantage of the console's unique, motion-sensitive control scheme. It uses both controllers, the Wii remote and the Nunchuck attachment. The analog stick moves Link while the remote swings the sword. Combining button and motion techniques performs special attacks. To aim while using certain items, point using the Wii remote, and attack by pressing the B button trigger. The remote is used to fish also. A fairy acts as a cursor when Link is not using any items.

The GameCube's version is very similar to the scheme featured in Wind Waker. The interactive Wii Remote is replaced with the traditional Gamecube controller. It should also be noted that the free camera control is exclusive to the GameCube version, which is controlled by using the C-Stick on the GameCube controller.

Remake

When you turn the game off and back on, the game no longer notifies you again what a blue rupee is worth

The game is in a higher resolution

The game can be played on the Wii U gamepad without need of a TV.

Trivia

Nintendo Power used to have a monthly article titled "Inside Zelda" that interviews makers of the game. This was later replaced with an article about the top five things in Zelda games, such as the top five enemies, transformations, and partners.

This is the first Legend of Zelda game to be a launch title for a Nintendo system (the Wii's version).

The writer of the Nintendo Power strategy guide is Chris Hoffman who also wrote the review in Nintendo Power magazine.

It is highly debated whether the Twili are the Gerudo tribe, the tribe who created Majora's Mask, or neither, because there is little to no evidence linking the Twili to either.

It is also debated that whether princess Ruto (water sage) was killed by Ganondorf or if it was just a random sage regarding which timeline you believe in.

The Wii version uses the remote/nunchuck combination. Since Link is lefthanded, the game had to be altered so that Link is righthanded. Instead of altering link solely, the entire game was flipped from the GameCube version.

This game was an original idea which was pushed aside to make "The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker."

In the 64DD game, Zelda URA, some enemies from that game like the Stalfos was put into The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.

In early development of the game, they were originally intending to add the Shiekahs in some way. However, it was pushed aside along with a draft out of Shiek which makes her appearance in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

Green Chu Jelly was originally planned to be in the game but was later removed. However, letting blue chus morph with yellow chus will allow green chu jelly available. Upon bottling it, the description area is completely blank.

This is the first game in the series to be rated T for Teen by the ESRB

Reception

The game has been praised by critics and players alike. Currently, both the Wii and GameCube version are ranked in the top one hundred game list on GameRankings. GameCube and Wii sales combined, the game has sold 6 million copies, give or take.